Method of coating automobile door handles



June 30, 1925. 1,544,184

w. SCHNELL METHOD oFA coATING AUTOMOBILE DooR HANDLES y 54Sheets--Sheei'l 1 93g. 526 Cfumc,

June 3o, 1925.

1,544,184 w. SCHNELL METHOD OF COATINGAUTOMOBILE DOOR HANDLES FiledMarch 2e s sheets-sheet 2 June 30, 19?..5.

w. SCHNELL `METH0D F coATING AUTOMOBILE Doon HANDLES :s sheets-sheet sFiled March 26. 1925 Patented June 3o, `1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM SCHNELL, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO S'HEPARD ART-METALCOMPANY, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION 0F MICHIGAN.

METHOD OF COATING AUTOMOBILE DOOR HANDLES.

Application filed March 26, 1923. Serial No. 627,617.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM SCHNELL, citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods .of CoatingAutomobile Door Handles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the method of coating automobile door handleswith enamels. Heretofore it has been customary to coat them with arubber compound vby a `moulding and vulcanizing operation.l However,this is relatively expensive. The purpose of my method is to afford acheaper and more expeditious way of applying a coating material which ispreferably a pyroxylin or celluloid compound.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine for evenly distributing anddrying the coats.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2 2 of Flg. 1. l

Figs. 3 to 7 inclusive are views of the handle illustrating the coatsthat are applied.

Fig. 8 is a detail of the handle showing how the material into which thehandle is dipped runs to one side and how by rotating the handle asshown in Fig. 1, an even distribution is secured.

Figs; 9 and 10 show two modifications which involve a process forremoving a portion of the grip and nickel plating the same. l

Figs. 11 to 14 inclusive, are views illustrating how a handle, which ispart 'enameled and part plated, is made.

In the ymanufacturing of door handles for ,automobile bodies, heretoforeit has been almost the universal custom to use nickel plated handles.These however, because voftively expensive as the moulding andVulcanizing operation is necessarily an expensive one. It is the objectof the present invention 'to afford a handle having the characteristicsof such a handle but which is very much cheaper to make than the rubbercoated handle.

AThe Workman takes the handle and.l dips it into a bath of viscous andsticky enamel bath of Celluloid or pyroxylin compound dissolved insuitable solvents; I prefer to use Pyraline Va preparation put out bythe E. I. du Pont de Nemours Co., of Wilmington, Delaware.

A The handle is then inserted in one of the sockets a of the machineshown in Fig. 1. This socket is detailed in Fig. 2, and is simplyausquared opening in a sleeve fitted into the hub Z of the sprocket c,rotated by the continuous chain d .that is driven by the drivingsprocket Wheel e, mounted on the same shaft as the Worm wheel f, whichis in turn driven by the worm g attached to the motor M. Preferably, thefront of this machine is covered over with a Wire mesh to make it safefor thel workman so that there is no danger of catching his fingers orclothing in the operating parts. Thls chain is driven continuously at arelatively low speed. The handle is then -slowly turned over or rotatedupon its axis. The liquid coating will run down the one side as shown inFig. 8,.but as the handle is continuously rotated this will be evenedout and as the coating dries and'hardens, the same will be evenlydistributed over the entire surface of the grip.

The rst coating is known as the priming coat. After the same has beenevenly distributed and sufliciently dried, the handle is removed fromthe socket and is dipped into a second pan of filler coat which ispreferably M5 Celluloid or Pyraline with zinc dissolved .in suitablesolvents, and black vdye added. These coatings are relatively viscous,lsticky coatings so that the coat runs with diiliculty and consequentlyit does not readily drip ofin fact, there is practically no drip at allto it when the same is rotated in the manner I have described. After thehandle is removed from the bath of the 'lillery coating, the same isplaced in one of the sockets already described, and turned in the samemanner until the coating. is evenly distributed and 'substantially dry.

This operation is again repeated to alord a second filler coat of thesame material, the distributing and drying operation is repeated.

Again the handle is dipped into an enamel coat, (1A), zinc' andCelluloid dissolved with solvents and black dye) dried and distributedin the same manner; and finally the handle is dipped in the lacquer coat(celluloid dissolved-Pyraline and black dye). The final coating isdistributed and drled in the manner hereinbefore described.

The exact number of coatings above described may be varied and also thecomposition of the substances used. Any quick drying, relatively viscouslacquer or enamel or japan may be used. As I have already stated, I findthe most suitable for this purpose is a Pyraline enamel, or a celluloidliquified by adding suitable solvents.

In actually carrying out my method, I employ a plurality of machinessuch as shown in Fig. 1. 'An operator at this machine dips the handlesonly in one bath; they are then put into the sockets and allowed to turnuntil properly distributed and dried; thereupon they are all removedfrom the sockets into a tray and conveyed to the next operator, whogives them a bath of the next coat and has a machine of his own intowhich h'e places the handles for distributing and drying the coating.

Still another method of practising my invention by an automatic machinefor dipping these, handles is described and claimed in my copendingapplication No.' 628,420, wherein the handles are dipped automaticallyby the machine and rotated automatically as they travel away from themachine.

After the grip portion of the handle has been completely enameled,portions of the same may be stripped off with a knife. For instance, onsome handles the ends are stripped as in Fig. 9; on other handles astrip through the center is removed, as appears in Fig. 10. Referring toFigs. 11 to- 14, inclusive, it will be see-n how this isvdone.Preferably, the portion to be stripped is made slightly bossed, orhigher than the remaining portion. This is shown in Fig. 11. In Fig. 12,the handle is shown after it has been given the severa-l enamel bathsallready described. In Fig. 13 the handle is shown after it has beenstripped on the bossed ends ofthe enamel. The bossing of the endsenables the stripper to cut olf the enamel at the proper places, as theboss serves as a guide. In Fig. 14, the handle is shown after the endshave been nickel plated.

There areutwo ways of effecting the nickel plating. For instance, thehandle may be completely nickel plated andV polished before the same isenameled. After it has been dipped in the enamel, allowed to dry andstripped, the handle is completed.l The way shown in Figs. 11 to 14inclusive, is to first dip the handle as shown in Fig. 12, then peel olfthe enamel along the bossed portions as shown in Fig. 14, and finallynickel plate rnd bli the stripped portions as shown in LThe handletreated in this way is relatively cheap to manufacture, as thev dippingoperations can be much more quickly and cheaply effected than avulcanizing and moulding operation. Furthermore, we nd that lthecelluloid and enamel wears better than the rubber compound. Finally, wend that it is practical to strip enamel of this kind before it is undulyhardened without -cracking the adjoining portions. Hence,

it is possible by the use of bosses such as I have shown to quickly andeasily strip a portion of the handle to aord the plated portion. Theseplated portions give the handle life that it would not otherwise have bycontrasting bright portions with black portions.

Enamel is used in the claims in a broad 'significance of any suitablevarnish, lacquer,

liquid celluloid compound, japan or similar material with or withoutpigment.

In the claims it has been necessary to state the electroplating afterthe enameling,

but I want it understood that this covers the equivalent, to wit:electroplating before the enameling.

What I claim is:

1. The method of finishing door handles which comprises the dipping ofthe grip portion of the handle in enamel and permitting the same to dry,the stripping of a portlon of enamel ofi', and the plating of suchexposed portions.

2. The method of finishing door handles, which comprises the dipping ofthe handles in several coatings of st1cky, viscous enamel, the evendistributing of the coating of enamel and permitting the coating to dry,the stripping of portions of the coating ofi' the handle, and theplating of such exposed portions.

3. The method of manufacturing door handles, comprising the fashioningof a handle with some of the portions bossed, the covering of the handlewith an enamel coating the stripping of the bossed portions, an theplating of such bossed portions.

4. The method of manufacturing door handles, which comprises thefashioning of a handle with designated bossed portions, the dipping ofthe handle in several coatings of sticky, viscous enamel, the evendistribution of the coating of the enamel and drying of such coating,the stripping of WILLIAM SCHNELL.

